Bloemen c. 1944 - 1990

Kees Stoop made 'Bloemen' using etching, though when exactly, I couldn't say. What strikes me is the all-over busyness, the tiny marks and lines that create a dense, almost impenetrable thicket of flora. It’s like looking into a magical window onto a secret garden. The texture of the etching gives the whole image a sense of depth and movement. Look closely, and you'll see the way Stoop varies the pressure and density of his lines, creating areas of light and shadow. There's a particular area where a few heavy lines seem to delineate a stem or trunk, around which all this detail swirls. This work reminds me of the graphic intensity you see in some of Odilon Redon's prints, that same embrace of the weird and wonderful. It feels like Stoop, just like Redon, invites us to get lost in the details and find our own way through the image. We're left with a sense of art as a playground for the eye and the mind.